Are you a Supernatural believer?

[nothing to see here]

I don't believe in ghosts, etc., but I do believe in aliens. I mean, they HAVE to be out there somewhere.

I don't really see how aliens would qualify as "supernatural." They're just critters from another planet, after all; they'd be just as "natural" as anything that sprouted up on Earth is. Though they may look really weird, depending on what sort of critters they are and what planet they come from.

I definitely think there are aliens out there. Not sure if any have ever actually come to Earth or not... though I don't believe that they built (insert any hard-to-build-even-with-today's-technology ancient structure here) or that there's any cheesy-sci-fi-movie-ish "take over the world by infiltrating its population" plots going on, even if aliens have visited at some point.

But yeah, like I said, I don't consider alien life to be "supernatural" so I didn't mention it before.

 

[sovram]

I've noticed that it's surprisingly common for people to refer to extraterrestrials as supernatural ... I don't know if it has to do with religious influence or what (it's pretty intense here) but I see it a lot.

I, of course, think it's pretty likely that life has existed in other locales than Sol III.

 

[Light]

I'm actually surprised that the majority, on this highly atheistic forum, like me voted "Perhaps there are." That being said, I don't think extraterrestrial life counts as supernatural, unless said aliens are so advanced that they're jumping between dimensions.

I personally relate to people who feel like the universe is so vast that it is highly unlikely that there is no other life out there. I feel the same way about existence outside our universe. I feel fairly certain that there must be something, somewhere, if you can use that terminology, beyond our own scope of reality. Of course it would never be tangent to our own reality, so we could never even know its existence, but who are we to say our finite universe is all that ever was?

Also, as someone who believes that every action has a cause, it is only logical that there is something outside of the 4-dimensional universe which set off the big bang.

 

[sovram]

I'm actually surprised that the majority, on this highly atheistic forum, like me voted "Perhaps there are."

Why? I am an atheist and I say "perhaps" about gods. It certainly isn't an admission of belief.

ETA: I think the poll's question and responses are ill-suited to the topic at hand, basically.

 

[Dinru]

I believe that there's still a lot we don't know about the universe and how it works, and also that it's nearly impossible to conclusively prove that many supernatural entities don't exist. I also think that whatever does exist probably won't be word-for-word what we'd expect, such as vampirism vs fictional vampires.

 

[Crazy Linoone]

Define "supernatural" -- if it can be explained by science but is currently unexplained, does it count as supernatural?

 

[Teh Ebil Snorlax]

Am I the only one who's noticed that the middle two responses are not actually answers to the question "do you believe in the supernatural?".

 

[sovram]

Am I the only one who's noticed that the middle two responses are not actually answers to the question "do you believe in the supernatural?".

ETA: I think the poll's question and responses are ill-suited to the topic at hand, basically.

Not really.

 

[ShinyUmbreonX3]

"Perhaps they are" and "I doubt it" are pretty much "Are ghosts/demons/related phenomena there?" Which is almost the same question. Almost. At least from what I'm getting.

 

[ultraviolet]

Am I the only one who's noticed that the middle two responses are not actually answers to the question "do you believe in the supernatural?".

the question itself could also be asking 'are you a believer that is supernatural?' so uh.

 

[ShinyUmbreonX3]

It's asking "Do you believe in the supernatural?" and worded improperly, unless I've totally been mislead.

 

[Automata heart]

i guess i belive in the supernatural, but thats because i used to see things as a child, so i've just always held onto that belief. i also think its perfectly plausible that there is something else out there. we don't know everything, and if we are stupid to pretend we do.

 

[1. Luftballon]

Define "supernatural" -- if it can be explained by science but is currently unexplained, does it count as supernatural?

has mass been adequately explained yet?

(haven't kept up with particle physics, okay)

 

[Jason-Kun]

Sort of.

 

[Light]

Why? I am an atheist and I say "perhaps" about gods. It certainly isn't an admission of belief.

ETA: I think the poll's question and responses are ill-suited to the topic at hand, basically.

Because the stereotypical "rational" mind dismisses claims of the supernatural to the troves of pseudoscience.

Am I the only one who's noticed that the middle two responses are not actually answers to the question "do you believe in the supernatural?".

No, but the intent seemed obvious, so most people didn't bother to comment.

Define "supernatural" -- if it can be explained by science but is currently unexplained, does it count as supernatural?

From dictionary.com:

super-
above, beyond, in addition, to an especially high degree

natural
of or pertaining to nature or the universe


So basically, by my interpretation, anything beyond or reaching outside of our own 4D spacetime. Excludes: aliens, vampires, qualia(?). Includes: traditional notion of a soul, parallel universes, abstract reasoning.

 

[Kronos]

Of course I am. I believe there are really things that cannot be explained in "natural" means. I have seen too many weird things to say otherwise.

 

[PK]

A nice, big ol' flat no.

 

[Light]

Of course I am. I believe there are really things that cannot be explained in "natural" means. I have seen too many weird things to say otherwise.

Wait, "cannot be explained"? You sure? I think you mean "are not best explained".